Electrochemically Enhanced Deposition of Scale from Chosen Formation Waters from the Norwegian Continental Shelf
Reservoir formation waters typically contain scaling ions which can precipitate and form mineral deposits. Such mineral deposition can be accelerated electrochemically, whereby the application of potential between two electrodes results in oxygen reduction and water electrolysis. Both processes chan...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Energies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/2/542 |
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| author | Benjamin Udo Emmel Kamila Maria Gawel Mohammad Hossain Bhuiyan Malin Torsæter Laura Edvardsen |
| author_facet | Benjamin Udo Emmel Kamila Maria Gawel Mohammad Hossain Bhuiyan Malin Torsæter Laura Edvardsen |
| author_sort | Benjamin Udo Emmel |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Reservoir formation waters typically contain scaling ions which can precipitate and form mineral deposits. Such mineral deposition can be accelerated electrochemically, whereby the application of potential between two electrodes results in oxygen reduction and water electrolysis. Both processes change the local pH near the electrodes and affect the surface deposition of pH-sensitive minerals. In the context of the plugging and abandonment of wells, electrochemically enhanced deposition could offer a cost-effective alternative to the established methods that rely on setting cement plugs. In this paper, we tested the scale electro-deposition ability of six different formation waters from selected reservoirs along the Norwegian continental shelf using two experimental setups, one containing CO<sub>2</sub> and one without CO<sub>2</sub>. As the electrochemical deposition of scaling minerals relies on local pH changes near the cathode, geochemical modelling was performed to predict oversaturation with respect to the different mineral phases at different pH values. In a CO<sub>2</sub>-free environment, the formation waters are mainly oversaturated with portlandite at pH > 12. When CO<sub>2</sub> was introduced to the system, the formation waters were oversaturated with calcite. The presence of mineral phases was confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses of the mineral deposits obtained in the laboratory experiments. The geochemical-modelling results indicate several oversaturated Mg-bearing minerals (e.g., brucite, dolomite, aragonite) in the formation waters but these, according to XRD results, were absent in the deposits, which is likely due to the significant domination of calcium-scaling ions in the solution. The amount of deposit was found to be proportional to the concentration of calcium present in the formation waters. Formation waters with a high concentration of Ca ions and a high conductivity yielded more precipitate. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:33:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9e4d6611cdb44b1dbc4a876b640b59be |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:33:45Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj.art-9e4d6611cdb44b1dbc4a876b640b59be2023-11-23T13:37:56ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732022-01-0115254210.3390/en15020542Electrochemically Enhanced Deposition of Scale from Chosen Formation Waters from the Norwegian Continental ShelfBenjamin Udo Emmel0Kamila Maria Gawel1Mohammad Hossain Bhuiyan2Malin Torsæter3Laura Edvardsen4SINTEF Industry, 7465 Trondheim, NorwaySINTEF Industry, 7465 Trondheim, NorwaySINTEF Industry, 7465 Trondheim, NorwaySINTEF Industry, 7465 Trondheim, NorwaySINTEF Industry, 7465 Trondheim, NorwayReservoir formation waters typically contain scaling ions which can precipitate and form mineral deposits. Such mineral deposition can be accelerated electrochemically, whereby the application of potential between two electrodes results in oxygen reduction and water electrolysis. Both processes change the local pH near the electrodes and affect the surface deposition of pH-sensitive minerals. In the context of the plugging and abandonment of wells, electrochemically enhanced deposition could offer a cost-effective alternative to the established methods that rely on setting cement plugs. In this paper, we tested the scale electro-deposition ability of six different formation waters from selected reservoirs along the Norwegian continental shelf using two experimental setups, one containing CO<sub>2</sub> and one without CO<sub>2</sub>. As the electrochemical deposition of scaling minerals relies on local pH changes near the cathode, geochemical modelling was performed to predict oversaturation with respect to the different mineral phases at different pH values. In a CO<sub>2</sub>-free environment, the formation waters are mainly oversaturated with portlandite at pH > 12. When CO<sub>2</sub> was introduced to the system, the formation waters were oversaturated with calcite. The presence of mineral phases was confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses of the mineral deposits obtained in the laboratory experiments. The geochemical-modelling results indicate several oversaturated Mg-bearing minerals (e.g., brucite, dolomite, aragonite) in the formation waters but these, according to XRD results, were absent in the deposits, which is likely due to the significant domination of calcium-scaling ions in the solution. The amount of deposit was found to be proportional to the concentration of calcium present in the formation waters. Formation waters with a high concentration of Ca ions and a high conductivity yielded more precipitate.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/2/542mineral scalewell pluggingelectro-depositionformation water |
| spellingShingle | Benjamin Udo Emmel Kamila Maria Gawel Mohammad Hossain Bhuiyan Malin Torsæter Laura Edvardsen Electrochemically Enhanced Deposition of Scale from Chosen Formation Waters from the Norwegian Continental Shelf Energies mineral scale well plugging electro-deposition formation water |
| title | Electrochemically Enhanced Deposition of Scale from Chosen Formation Waters from the Norwegian Continental Shelf |
| title_full | Electrochemically Enhanced Deposition of Scale from Chosen Formation Waters from the Norwegian Continental Shelf |
| title_fullStr | Electrochemically Enhanced Deposition of Scale from Chosen Formation Waters from the Norwegian Continental Shelf |
| title_full_unstemmed | Electrochemically Enhanced Deposition of Scale from Chosen Formation Waters from the Norwegian Continental Shelf |
| title_short | Electrochemically Enhanced Deposition of Scale from Chosen Formation Waters from the Norwegian Continental Shelf |
| title_sort | electrochemically enhanced deposition of scale from chosen formation waters from the norwegian continental shelf |
| topic | mineral scale well plugging electro-deposition formation water |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/2/542 |
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